The desire to prevent food allergies may prompt some parents of kids with eczema to consider elimination diets, but a new study shows that these diets aren’t a panacea.
Elimination diets only mildly improved atopic dermatitis (AD) lesions in one-third of parents of kids with AD, according to research presented at the 2024 American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting in Boston , MA.
“Elimination diets aren’t recommended as a treatment for AD according to guidelines from major allergy organizations,” says study author Nadia Makkoukdji, MD, a pediatric resident at the University of Miami / Jackson Memorial Hospital Pediatric Residency Program, in a news release.
For the study, 298 parents of infants and children with AD completed a survey to gauge their perceptions of the effects of elimination diets on development of food allergies. Fully 42% reported that certain foods exacerbate their child’s eczema. The foods most frequently identified as triggers were milk (32%), tree nuts/seeds/peanuts (16%,) and eggs (11%).
Among those who identified food triggers:
- 19% changed their baby’s formula
- 20% eliminated certain foods from their diet while breastfeeding and
- 23% completely removed the suspected foods from their child’s diet.
Regarding the elimination diet’s effectiveness, 38% observed no improvement in AD, 35% reported 25% improvement, and 9% noted complete resolution. Additionally, 79% of responders reintroduced the eliminated foods without recurrence of eczema symptoms. The authors concluded that parents’ understanding of AD and its dietary links significantly influenced their children’s diets.
